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Guy
Guy 'died in the Battle of La Forbie, October 17, 1244, in a field northeast of Gaza. 'Life and Mortality Guy was born ' to noble parents - cousins to Frederick II Hohenstaufen, who was king of Arelat (Burgundy) when Guy was a child, and Holy Roman Emperor when he was an adult. As a young child Guy was afflicted with leprosy, and as such grew distant from his lord father, who sent him away to be educated at Oxford, then disinherited Guy when a younger son was born. Guy went on to continue his education in a monastery and hospital for the infirm, and would join the Holy Order of Saint Lazarus with several other educated lepers and relocate to Acre, in the Holy Land. With his education and birth, Guy was generally very trusted by other members of the order, and their patients. Though their methods tended toward leeching, poultices of honey and herbs, ingestion of a concoction of lamb's blood, herbs and incenses, and injections of plant and animal venoms, with the introduction of certain oils from India, they did see some early success in suppressing the illness of leprosy. No cure was in sight, but they could at least ease the pain of their patients. Guy's time in Jerusalem was subject to the problems of the nation - it was a hotly contested region, subject to numerous external and internal pressures. Saladin and his moors wanted the Holy Land returned to them; the Pope, the English, and the Holy Roman Empire all wanted the Holy Land for themselves. Baldwin IV did his best to maintain the neutrality and independence of the nation of Jerusalem, but as with all sick men, in time, Baldwin died. 'Death, Immortality, and the Sleep of Ages La Forbie was fought in defense of the Catholic kingdom of Jerusalem from the Egyptian sultanate, who had finally managed to capture the city; in a way, La Forbie was a fallback, but for the Order of Lazarus and the Knights of St. John, the principal concern was defending the hospitals - easy targets. The Knights Hospitallers wore black, with a white cross; the Order of Lazarus white, with a green cross. The difference in build between the two orders was staggering - the Knights of St. John were hale and healthy, broad of shoulder and more than capable of killing a man. The Order of Lazarus was, principally, in later stages of leprosy, bandaged and lean beneath their maille. Guy was one such knight. Guy was gravely injured in the fighting, brought into the hospital to die in relative peace from the carnage outside. He did die, but not in the manner expected - he was embraced by one Martin of Jerusalem, an ancient Haunt with a peculiar bend toward bringing lepers across the threshhold. Accompanying his sire, he learned to adapt to his new situation, and the curious nature of his recovery from infirmity. A monster, Guy reasoned, accomplished what God would or could not - in undeath, Guy's ailment was completely obliterated. A new sickness - one much, much milder - took its place from the tainted blood of Martin, but it was a happy exchange for Guy. His knightly loyalty saw him adjoined to Ivrah d'Acre, a Ventrue templar and noble working in the area, making pacts and assuring Invictus assets in the region were stable. In that age of stolid feudalism, being a cousin to the Emperor saw a great deal of favour heaped upon Guy by the Invictus. Guy was gravely wounded - again - fighting to secure Ivrah's person from Egyptian vampire-hunters. Though the attackers were slain, Guy was cut, stabbed, shot through with crossbows, and badly burned. Overcome by the gravity of his wounds, he fell into a torporous state, from which he would not awaken for over seven hundred and fifty years. 'Waking Into the Modern Age' In the six months since his reawakening, Guy has lost himself in modern technologies. He has yet to learn to drive a car, but he took to the motorcycle quite readily. He has adapted to the use of the computer with curious ease, and has even began rudimentary self-education into means of hacking into remote systems and retrieving sensitive data. He has spent some time at a firing range, adjusting to the noise and handling of modern firearms. He has - mostly - recovered his disciplinary capacities, though his blood has grown thin with time and sleep. There is much in the world for him to learn, and he wants to experience it all. Guy has been attached to the coterie by Ivrah, and is accompanying and assisting them for the foreseeable future. 'Miscellaneous Facts' *'In personality,' Guy is friendly, if somewhat easily excited by all the newness of the modern world. He is doing his best to adjust to modern fashions, though the woman of tonight tends to wear clothing that could easily make this dead man blush if it didn't take conscious effort on his part. He comes from a time before the simple handshake, so around him, expect a lot of bowing or polite nodding. *''Guy can fight like a motherfucker.'' Due to his complications of health and build, he developed and practiced a fighting style similar to the Florentine style of fencing - a form of swordsmanship that would not be popularized for some two hundred years after his death. Obviously, these complications are largely mitigated in undeath - but the skill at arms remains. *'Though disinherited,' Guy still maintained properties of his own in his homeland and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem. These remained vacant for some time but were purchased by local banks from the local governments and resold; Guy has representatives working to reacquire his estates, and much of his liquid assets are wrapped up in this. *'Guy cannot feel pain.' When leprosy creeps past a topical infection its most insidious quality - deadening of the nerves - sets in. This often leads to gangrene as minor nicks and cuts do not receive proper care; Guy still has all his bits, evidently. *'It is very likely' Guy, when alive, was a member of the retinue of specialists treating Baldwin IV, leper king of Jerusalem. *'Nossies are all creepy or scary. What makes Guy creepy/scary?' **His pallor; even if he spends blood to flush his skin, his skin remains a sickly, clammy colour. **His scars - they crisscross his face and body, remnants of the leprous lesions he bore in life, healed with baby-smooth new flesh in undeath. **His eyes - flat black, seemingly without any gloss to the lens, can convince people that he has too much depth, or perhaps no soul. **His smell - Guy smells faintly of antiquated antiseptics, slightly minty, slightly lemony, with an undercurrent of oiliness, something like a lozenge. **He's french. *'Guy wears' clothing that would be considered indie or hipster chic today, but really fits closely with what he is accustomed to wearing from his day - men's skirts and leggings, calf boots, hooded sweatshirts and the like. With his apparent age and wardrobe, he easily passes for the disaffected youth of today. *'Guy is not truly French' - Arles is a province in France now, yes, but they don't speak modern French even today - they speak langue d'oc or occitane, and seven hundred years ago the two regions spoke very different languages. He's learned quickly to discard his old-world pronouns and sentence structure, and is studying modern French during his days. 'Thoughts and Opinions' PCs *'Rava:' "She and Ivrah share a faith. Though I must say, she reminds me very much of long ago - except for the clothing! Of course. Eh... heh." *'Madison: '"She seems very pleasant. She is not very patient, but.. Well, I do know what it is to be driven." *'Devon: '"I do not know what he did to that man, but whatever it was, it was effective. A very capable warrior, and, I am told, an artist as well." *'Evan:' "The first time I saw him, it was as if I'd stepped back into the hospital at Acre - thinly bloodied bandages, head-to-toe. But now, he has grafted the skin of another to him! We could never have dreamed of doing this, in our day. Marvelous." Deceased PCs *'Nate':'' "I hear he was a fool of some sort. They call them comedians now? Professionally funny, I mean. But, nobody seems to have liked him much. My... uncle had a very angry dwarf as his fool, for a time, but the man earnestly had no interest in entertaining anybody, and so when called to entertain, he would blaspheme, and speak all manner of filth. Very rude."'' NPCs *'Hypatia': "She is a very cross woman, very ah... paranoid, I think the word is." *'Mukhtar Bey': "He seems very familiar to me, but I cannot say as to why." *'Ivrah': "My oldest ally. I am sure time has changed him as it has yet to change me, but I feel I can ''probably ''trust him. Why else would he keep me in a box for so long?" *'Sir Conan': "Why would anyone ghoul a goose?" *'Babycakes:' "For such an intimidating man, he seems very loyal and gentle. Like a child, no?" *'Teague:' "He strikes me as very sad. But knowledgeable. Perhaps his knowledge saddens him?" *'Mahdi:' "The noble Arab. Ivrah tells me, Mahdi maintains a 'night club' - such an awkward phrase - where the Kindred of the city are free to meet, outside of Ivrah's Elysium. Convenient, I think." Covenants *'Ordo Dracul:' "This is all very novel. I confess, I am excited by their philosophies, borne of some sort of renaissance I woefully slept through." '' *'Carthian Movement: "I see. So, they think a great number of Kindred are capable of agreeing on any one thing long enough to make important decisions? Optimistic, to be sure!" *'''Circle of the Crone: ''"There was a time, I would have reflexively dismissed these vampires as heathens, fit only to burn. But, you see, that was before I died! Ha ha ha!"'' *'The Invictus: '"I suppose we do our best to maintain a modicum of order and civility among our highly predatory kind. It seems many of us are simply concerned with personal profit, though. C'est la morte, I suppose." *'Lancea Sanctum: '"I did always find this interesting - asserting the Almighty ordained we undead to be that which inspires humanity to goodness. The terror in the night ushering communal reliance and grace, yes? In a way, driving humanity closer to God. I do not think many members of this group see things that way, though. I do not think I do, either." *'Belial's Brood: '"Burn them. Burn them all." 'Rumour has it...' *...Guy isn't a vampire, but some kind of Medieval Frankenstein. *...Guy is a homosexual. C'mon, a monastery? *...Guy's crazy and isn't actually all that old. *...Guy has trouble with the concept of a 'steering wheel'. *...Guy types like he's using an abacus. *...Guy goes to secret Templar sex parties, attended by the Freemasons. This one was started by a Nossie who claims 'Invictus' is secret fang code for 'Illuminati'. *...the Fog of Eternity has claimed most of Guy's memories, and he's working from what Ivrah's told him. Category:Player Characters Category:Active Characters Category:Nosferatu Category:Order of Sir Martin Category:Leper Knight Category:Invictus Category:Incredibly Old Money Category:Rich Category:Internet Tough Guy Category:Elder Category:Kindred Category:Vampire